NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s Supreme Court on Monday set aside an order by an environmental court which had cleared the way for reopening Vedanta’s south Indian copper smelter, in a blow to the company’s plans to begin operations.

The government of Tamil Nadu state ordered the smelter shut permanently in May after violent protests at the plant in the city of Thoothukudi in which 13 people were killed.

In December, India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) revoked the state decision to shut the plant, prompting the state government to appeal in the Supreme Court.